By Erica Irish TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS — Law enforcement and community representatives packed a House Public Policy Committee Wednesday to testify on a bill to lessen restrictions on handgun ownership. Instead, author Rep. Timothy Wesco, R-Osceola, told the room to “forget the bill.” Soon after the hearing convened, Wesco proposed an amendment that retracted his original […]

By Amari Thompson TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS—Legislation that would require parents to grant permission to teach their children about human sexuality passed 9-1 in an Indiana Senate committee Wednesday. Senate Bill 65, authored by Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, amends a more than two-decade old statute on how Hoosiers students are taught about sex. In the 1995 bill, […]

By John Krull TheStatehouseFile.com WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the window just over the right shoulder of former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, the Washington Monument stands, straight as truth itself. Lugar and I talk in a meeting room at the Lugar Center, which is housed in the Willard Hotel, home to much U.S. history. Ghosts […]

By Emily Ketterer TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS — La’Kysha Gardner’s 15-year-old son, Jason, was beaten nearly to death and left in a ditch because of his race. His attacker was sentenced to 30 days. “I sat in the courtroom yesterday and watched a young man who almost killed my child receive 30 days,” Gardner told the Senate […]

By Erica Irish and Eddie Drews TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS — Drew Tapp, editor-in-chief of Southport High School’s The Journal, is no stranger to journalism education and its ongoing struggle in Indiana politics. As the Southport senior manages 28 student journalists, Tapp works under the oversight of an administration that could review or censor any of his […]

By Amari Thompson TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS—Savannah Bettis was traveling home from a shopping trip with her boyfriend when she got a bad headache and passed out. Her boyfriend, Jesse Hurt, immediately called her parents and began heading to the hospital. But moments later, he, too, passed out and crashed the car. Savannah, who was looking forward […]

By Adrianna Pitrelli TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS — Living on coffee, donuts and popcorn for the weekend, Sen. Joe Donnelly and nearly two dozen other lawmakers sat in a small Senate office passing a foam basketball around as they negotiated an end to the three-day government shutdown. “In true Hoosier tradition, we passed it around and whoever […]

By Erica Irish TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS — Following suit with last Thursday’s unanimous Indiana House decision, senators approved additional funding for K-12 schools 49-0 Monday. Senate Bill 189 calls for a transfer of up to $25 million from the state tuition reserve fund to the direct benefit of Indiana’s K-12 schools. Though a budget was passed […]

By Erica Irish TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS—County election boards that beef up security around voting equipment and elections will be able to seek reimbursement for their expenses under a bill approved by a state Senate committee Monday. Senate Bill 327 requires counties to make sure their voting systems follow new security procedures and allows county election boards […]

By Emily Ketterer TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS — The bill to stop local municipalities from banning Airbnb-style rentals passed the House of Representatives in a 74-19 vote Monday. House Bill 1035 would prevent locals from regulating short-term rentals. Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne, emphasized that homeowners should be able to do what they wish with their property. Lehman […]